Dual screening grows in India

17 May 2013

BANGALORE: The proportion of Indian consumers who engage in dual screening has more than doubled within the space of a year, according to new research.

InMobi, the mobile advertising network, surveyed 2,004 mobile users in India as part of a wider global study and found that 63% of users were actively spending time on mobile devices while watching TV, compared to just 26% in 2012.

This included 57% users who engaged in social networking while watching TV.

In all, nearly a third of their media consumption time was spent on mobile devices and the survey established that 65% of Indian mobile web users are now as comfortable with mobile advertising as they are with TV or online advertising.

"The tiny mobile phone has overtaken the mighty TV in India from a media consumption perspective," observed Phalgun Raju, Vice President and General Manager, India, and Southeast Asia at InMobi.

Noting the 850m active mobile connections in the country, she commented: "The mobile marketing channel presents marketers an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the always-connected consumers."

"The onus is now on brands and content agencies to create compelling, engaging mobile rich media to capture consumers' attention," she added.

A separate survey from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and Yes Bank predicted that wireless connections would comprise nearly 90% of all internet connections added between 2012 and 2017.

Some 80% of InMobi's respondents noticed mobile ads on their smartphone, while a majority of users, 48%, experienced these ads on mobile apps specifically.

"Our research shows that on average 7.1 apps are actively used by Indian consumers over a 30-day period," said Raju.

"This has huge implications for both publishers and advertisers as they seek to garner an audience for their offerings and monetize through advertising," he concluded.

InMobi's survey also revealed that 79% of Indian mobile web users planned to conduct m-commerce during the next 12 months.